Methods Of Acoustically Communicating And Wells That Utilize The Methods

ABSTRACT

Methods of acoustically communicating and wells that utilize the methods are disclosed herein. The methods generally utilize an acoustic wireless network including a plurality of nodes spaced-apart along a length of a tone transmission medium and include determining a major frequency of a received acoustic tone transmitted via the tone transmission medium.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to and claims benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/433,503, filed Dec. 13, 2016 entitled “Methodsof Acoustically Communicating And Wells That Utilize The Methods,” U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/381,330 filed Aug. 30, 2016,entitled “Communication Networks, Relay Nodes for CommunicationNetworks, and Methods of Transmitting Data Among a Plurality of RelayNodes,” U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/381,335, filed Aug. 30,2016 entitled “Zonal Isolation Devices Including Sensing and WirelessTelemetry and Methods of Utilizing the Same,” U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/428,367, filed Nov. 30, 2016, entitled “DualTransducer Communications Node for Downhole Acoustic Wireless Networksand Method Employing Same,” U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/428,374, filed Nov. 30, 2016, entitled “Hybrid Downhole AcousticWireless Network,” U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/433,491,filed Dec. 13, 2016 entitled “Methods of Acoustically Communicating AndWells That Utilize The Methods,” and U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 62/428,425 filed Nov. 30, 2016, entitled “Acoustic Housing forTubulars,” the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to methods of acousticallycommunicating and/or to wells that utilize the methods.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

An acoustic wireless network may be utilized to wirelessly transmit anacoustic signal, such as a vibration, via a tone transmission medium. Ingeneral, a given tone transmission medium will only permit communicationwithin a certain frequency range; and, in some systems, this frequencyrange may be relatively small. Such systems may be referred to herein asspectrum-constrained systems. An example of a spectrum-constrainedsystem is a well, such as a hydrocarbon well, that includes a pluralityof communication nodes spaced-apart along a length thereof.

Under certain circumstances, it may be desirable to transmit data, inthe form of acoustic signals, within such a spectrum-constrainedenvironment. However, conventional data transmission mechanisms oftencannot be effectively utilized. Thus, there exists a need for improvedmethods of acoustically communicating and/or for wells that utilize themethods.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Methods of acoustically communicating and wells that utilize the methodsare disclosed herein. The methods generally utilize an acoustic wirelessnetwork including a plurality of nodes spaced-apart along a length of atone transmission medium. In some embodiments, the methods includemethods of communicating when the acoustic wireless network isspectrum-constrained. In these embodiments, the methods include encodingan encoded character with an encoding node of the plurality of nodes.The encoding includes selecting a first frequency based upon a firstpredetermined lookup table and the encoded character, and thetransmitting a first transmitted acoustic tone at the first frequency.The encoding further includes selecting a second frequency based upon asecond predetermined lookup table and the encoded character, and thetransmitting a second transmitted acoustic tone at the second frequency.These methods also include decoding a decoded character with a decodingnode of the plurality of nodes. The decoding includes receiving a firstreceived acoustic tone, calculating a first frequency distribution forthe first received acoustic tone, and determining a first decodedcharacter distribution for the decoded character. The decoding alsoincludes receiving a second received acoustic tone, calculating a secondfrequency distribution for the second received acoustic tone, anddetermining a second decoded character distribution for the decodedcharacter. The decoding further includes identifying the decodedcharacter based upon the first decoded character distribution and thesecond decoded character distribution.

In other embodiments, the methods include methods of determining a majorfrequency of a received acoustic tone transmitted via the tonetransmission medium. These methods include receiving a received acoustictone for a tone receipt time and estimating a frequency of the receivedacoustic tone. These methods also include separating the tone receipttime into a plurality of time intervals and calculating a frequencyvariation within each of the time intervals. These methods furtherinclude selecting a subset of the plurality of time intervals withinwhich the frequency variation is less than a threshold frequencyvariation and averaging a plurality of discrete frequency values withinthe subset of the plurality of time intervals to determine the majorfrequency of the received acoustic tone.

In other embodiments, the methods include methods of conserving power inthe acoustic wireless network. These methods include repeatedly andsequentially cycling a given node of the plurality of nodes for aplurality of cycles by entering a lower power state for a lower powerstate duration and subsequently transitioning to a listening state for alistening state duration. The low-power state duration is greater thanthe listening state duration. These methods also include transmitting,during the cycling and via a tone transmission medium, a transmittedacoustic tone for a tone transmission duration, receiving a receivedacoustic tone, and, responsive to the receiving, interrupting thecycling by transitioning the given node to an active state. The tonetransmission duration is greater than the low-power state duration suchthat the acoustic wireless network detects the transmitted acoustic toneregardless of when the transmitting is initiated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a well configured to utilize themethods according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting methods, according to the presentdisclosure, of communicating in an acoustic wireless network that isspectrum-constrained.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting methods, according to the presentdisclosure, of encoding an encoded character.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting methods, according to the presentdisclosure, of decoding a decoded character.

FIG. 5 is an example of a first predetermined lookup table that may beutilized with the methods according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is an example of a second predetermined lookup table that may beutilized with the methods according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is an example of a plurality of encoded characters and acorresponding plurality of frequencies that may be utilized to conveythe encoded characters.

FIG. 8 is an example of a plurality of encoded characters and acorresponding plurality of frequencies that may be utilized to conveythe encoded characters.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart depicting methods, according to the presentdisclosure, of determining a major frequency of a received acoustictone.

FIG. 10 is a plot illustrating a received amplitude of a plurality ofreceived acoustic tones as a function of time.

FIG. 11 is a plot illustrating a received amplitude of an acoustic tonefrom FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a plot illustrating frequency variation in the receivedacoustic tone of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a table illustrating histogram data that may be utilized todetermine the major frequency of the received acoustic tone of FIGS.11-12.

FIG. 14 is a table illustrating a mechanism, according to the presentdisclosure, by which the major frequency of the acoustic tone of FIGS.11-12 may be selected.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart depicting methods, according to the presentdisclosure, of conserving power in an acoustic wireless network.

FIG. 16 is a schematic illustration of the method of FIG. 15.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION AND BEST MODE OF THE DISCLOSURE

FIGS. 1-16 provide examples of methods 200, 300, and/or 400, accordingto the present disclosure, and/or of wells 20 including acousticwireless networks 50 that may include and/or utilize the methods.Elements that serve a similar, or at least substantially similar,purpose are labeled with like numbers in each of FIGS. 1-16, and theseelements may not be discussed in detail herein with reference to each ofFIGS. 1-16. Similarly, all elements may not be labeled in each of FIGS.1-16, but reference numerals associated therewith may be utilized hereinfor consistency. Elements, components, and/or features that arediscussed herein with reference to one or more of FIGS. 1-16 may beincluded in and/or utilized with any of FIGS. 1-16 without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure. In general, elements that arelikely to be included in a particular embodiment are illustrated insolid lines, while elements that are optional are illustrated in dashedlines. However, elements that are shown in solid lines may not beessential and, in some embodiments, may be omitted without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a well 20 configured to utilizemethods 200, 300, and/or 400 according to the present disclosure. Well20 includes a wellbore 30 that extends within a subsurface region 90.Wellbore 30 also may be referred to herein as extending between asurface region 80 and subsurface region 90 and/or as extending within asubterranean formation 92 that extends within the subsurface region.Subterranean formation 92 may include a hydrocarbon 94. Under theseconditions, well 20 also may be referred to herein as, or may be, ahydrocarbon well 20, a production well 20, and/or an injection well 20.

Well 20 also includes an acoustic wireless network 50. The acousticwireless network also may be referred to herein as a downhole acousticwireless network 50 and includes a plurality of nodes 60, which arespaced-apart along a tone transmission medium 100 that extends along alength of wellbore 30. In the context of well 20, tone transmissionmedium 100 may include a downhole tubular 40 that may extend withinwellbore 30, a wellbore fluid 32 that may extend within wellbore 30, aportion of subsurface region 90 that is proximal wellbore 30, a portionof subterranean formation 92 that is proximal wellbore 30, and/or acement 34 that may extend within wellbore 30 and/or that may extendwithin an annular region between wellbore 30 and downhole tubular 40.Downhole tubular 40 may define a fluid conduit 44.

Nodes 60 may include one or more encoding nodes 62, which may beconfigured to generate an acoustic tone 70 and/or to induce the acoustictone within tone transmission medium 100. Nodes 60 also may include oneor more decoding nodes 64, which may be configured to receive acoustictone 70 from the tone transmission medium. A given node 60 may functionas both an encoding node 62 and a decoding node 64 depending uponwhether the given node is transmitting an acoustic tone (i.e.,functioning as the encoding node) or receiving the acoustic tone (i.e.,functioning as the decoding node). Stated another way, the given nodemay include both encoding and decoding functionality, or structures,with these structures being selectively utilized depending upon whetheror not the given node is encoding the acoustic tone or decoding theacoustic tone.

In wells 20, transmission of acoustic tone 70 may be along a length ofwellbore 30. As such, the transmission of the acoustic tone may belinear, at least substantially linear, and/or directed, such as by tonetransmission medium 100. Such a configuration may be in contrast to moreconventional wireless communication methodologies, which generally maytransmit a corresponding wireless signal in a plurality of directions,or even in every direction.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, acoustic wireless network 50 may include nodes60 that are positioned within wellbore 30. As such, these nodes may beinaccessible, or at least difficult to access. Thus, limiting powerconsumption, as is discussed herein with reference to methods 400 ofFIGS. 15-16, may be important to the operation and/or longevity of theacoustic wireless network.

Method 200, 300, and/or 400, which are discussed in more detail herein,are disclosed in the context of well 20, such as a hydrocarbon well.However, it is within the scope of the present disclosure that thesemethods may be utilized to communicate via an acoustic tone, such asdescribed in methods 200 of FIGS. 2-8, to determine a major frequency ofa received acoustic tone, such as described in methods 300 of FIGS.9-14, and/or to conserve power, such as described in methods 300 ofFIGS. 15-16, in any suitable acoustic wireless network. As examples,methods 200, 300, and/or 400 may be utilized with a correspondingacoustic wireless network in the context of a subsea well and/or in thecontext of a subsea tubular that extends within a subsea environment.Under these conditions, the tone transmission medium may include, or be,the subsea tubular and/or a subsea fluid that extends within the subseaenvironment, proximal the subsea tubular, and/or within the subseatubular. As another example, methods 200, 300 and/or 400 may be utilizedwith a corresponding acoustic wireless network in the context of asurface tubular that extends within the surface region. Under theseconditions, the tone transmission medium may include, or be, the surfacetubular and/or a fluid that extends within the surface region, proximalthe surface tubular, and/or within the surface tubular.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting methods 200, according to the presentdisclosure, of communicating in an acoustic wireless network that isspectrum-constrained. The acoustic wireless network includes a pluralityof nodes spaced-apart along a length of a tone transmission medium.Examples of the acoustic wireless network are disclosed herein withreference to acoustic wireless network 50 of FIG. 1. Examples of thetone transmission medium are disclosed herein with reference to tonetransmission medium 100 of FIG. 1.

With the above in mind, methods 200 may include establishingpredetermined lookup tables at 210 and include encoding an encodedcharacter at 220, which is illustrated in more detail in FIG. 3. Methods200 further may include conveying an acoustic tone at 230 and includedecoding a decoded character at 240, which is illustrated in more detailin FIG. 4. Methods 200 also may include repeating at least a portion ofthe methods at 280, and FIGS. 5-8 provide schematic examples of varioussteps of methods 200.

During operation of an acoustic wireless network, such as acousticwireless network 50 of FIG. 1, methods 200 may be utilized to transmitand/or convey one or more characters and/or pieces of information along,or along the length of, the tone transmission medium. As an example, andas discussed in more detail herein, a first predetermined lookup table201, as illustrated in FIG. 5, and a second predetermined lookup table202, as illustrated in FIG. 6, may correlate a plurality of characters,or encoded characters, (e.g., characters A-Q in FIGS. 5-6) to aplurality of frequencies, or frequency ranges (e.g., frequencies F₁-F₁₇in FIGS. 5-6). Under these conditions, a character, such as a “P,” maybe selected for transmission along the length of the tone transmissionmedium, and methods 200 may be utilized to encode this character into acorresponding frequency and subsequently to decode this character fromthe corresponding frequency. In the example of FIGS. 5-6, the “P”corresponds to F₁₆ in first predetermined lookup table 201 and to F₈ insecond predetermined lookup table 202. Thus, the encoding at 220 mayinclude transmitting frequency F₁₆, via the tone transmission medium andwith an encoding node, and subsequently transmitting frequency F₈, viathe tone transmission medium and with the encoding node, as illustratedin FIG. 7. The decoding at 240 then may include receiving frequency F₁₆and subsequently receiving frequency F₈, with a decoding node and fromthe tone transmission medium, and utilizing first predetermined lookuptable 201 and second predetermined lookup table 202, respectively, todecode the received frequencies into their corresponding character(e.g., P₁ and P₂, as illustrated in FIG. 8). This process may berepeated any suitable number of times to transmit any suitable number ofcharacters, or encoded characters, along the length of the tonetransmission medium, as illustrated in FIGS. 7-8 with the correspondingfrequencies for transmission of the characters P-A-I-L.

Establishing predetermined lookup tables at 210 may include establishingany suitable predetermined lookup table. This may include establishingthe first predetermined lookup table and the second predetermined lookuptable, and these predetermined lookup tables may be utilized during theencoding at 220 and/or during the decoding at 240. With this in mind,the establishing at 210, when performed, may be performed prior to theencoding at 220 and/or prior to the decoding at 240.

The establishing at 210 may be accomplished in any suitable manner. Asan example, the establishing at 210 may include obtaining the firstpredetermined lookup table and/or the second predetermined lookup tablefrom any suitable source, such as from a database of lookup tables.

As another example, the establishing at 210 may include generating, orcreating, the first predetermined lookup table and/or the secondpredetermined lookup table. This may include transmitting, at 212, acalibration signal via the tone transmission medium and with an encodingnode of the plurality of nodes. This also may include receiving, at 214,the calibration signal from the tone transmission medium and with adecoding node of the plurality of nodes. This further may includedetermining, at 216, at least one acoustic characteristic of the tonetransmission medium. The at least one characteristic of the tonetransmission medium may be determined and/or quantified based, at leastin part, on the transmitting at 212 and/or on the receiving at 214.

Under these conditions, the establishing at 210 may include establishingthe predetermined lookup tables based, at least in part, on the at leastone acoustic characteristic of the tone transmission medium. As a morespecific example, the establishing at 210 may include determining abandwidth for acoustic communication within the tone transmissionmedium. This may include determining a bandwidth, or frequency range,within which the tone transmission medium has less than a thresholdambient acoustic noise level and/or within which the transmitting at 212and the receiving at 214 may be performed with less than a thresholdloss in signal quality, in signal amplitude, and/or in signal intensitybetween the encoding node and the decoding node.

An example of first predetermined lookup table 201 is illustrated inFIG. 5, while an example of second predetermined lookup table 202 isillustrated in FIG. 6. As illustrated in FIGS. 5-6, predetermined lookuptables 201 and 202 generally correlate a plurality of characters, orencoded characters, such as the letters A through Q that are illustratedin the first row of FIGS. 5-6, with a corresponding plurality offrequencies, or frequency ranges, such as frequencies F₁-F₁₇ that areillustrated in the second row of FIGS. 5-6.

First predetermined lookup table 201 and second predetermined lookuptable 202 differ from one another. More specifically, and asillustrated, the frequency that correlates to a given character differsbetween first predetermined lookup table 201 and second predeterminedlookup table 202. Additionally or alternatively, the first predeterminedlookup table and the second predetermined lookup table may be configuredsuch that, for a given character, the corresponding first frequency, asestablished by first predetermined lookup table 201, is unequal toand/or not a harmonic of the corresponding second frequency, asestablished by second predetermined lookup table 202. Such aconfiguration may increase an accuracy of communication when the tonetransmission medium transmits one frequency more effectively, with lessnoise, and/or with less attenuation than another frequency.

It is within the scope of the present disclosure that firstpredetermined lookup table 201 and second predetermined lookup table 202may utilize the same encoded characters and the same frequencies, orfrequency ranges. Under these conditions, a different frequency, orfrequency range, may be correlated to each encoded character in firstpredetermined lookup table 201 when compared to second predeterminedlookup table 202. Additionally or alternatively, it is also within thescope of the present disclosures that at least one frequency, orfrequency range, may be included in one of the first predeterminedlookup table and the second predetermined lookup table but not in theother lookup table.

The plurality of frequencies utilized in the first predetermined lookuptable and in the second predetermined lookup table, including the firstfrequency and/or the second frequency, may have any suitable valueand/or may be within any suitable frequency range. As examples, eachfrequency in the plurality of frequencies may be at least 10 kilohertz(kHz), at least 25 kHz, at least 50 kHz, at least 60 kHz, at least 70kHz, at least 80 kHz, at least 90 kHz, at least 100 kHz, at least 200kHz, at least 250 kHz, at least 400 kHz, at least 500 kHz, and/or atleast 600 kHz. Additionally or alternatively, each frequency in theplurality of frequencies may be at most 1000 kHz (1 megahertz), at most800 kHz, at most 600 kHz, at most 400 kHz, at most 200 kHz, at most 150kHz, at most 100 kHz, and/or at most 80 kHz.

Encoding the encoded character at 220 may include encoding the encodedcharacter with the encoding node. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the encodingat 220 includes selecting a first frequency for a first transmittedacoustic tone at 222, transmitting the first transmitted acoustic toneat 224, selecting a second frequency for a second transmitted acoustictone at 226, and transmitting the second transmitted acoustic tone at228.

Selecting the first frequency for the first transmitted acoustic tone at222 may include selecting based, at least in part, on the encodedcharacter. Additionally or alternatively, the selecting at 222 also mayinclude selecting from the first predetermined lookup table. The firstfrequency may be correlated to the encoded character in the firstpredetermined lookup table. As an example, and with reference to FIG. 5,the first encoded character may be a “P,” and the first frequency may beF₁₆, as indicated in the leftmost box of FIG. 7. The first predeterminedlookup table may provide a one-to-one correspondence between the firstfrequency and the encoded character. Stated another way, each encodedcharacter, and each frequency, may be utilized once and only once in thefirst predetermined lookup table.

Transmitting the first transmitted acoustic tone at 224 may includetransmitting the first transmitted acoustic tone at the first frequency.Additionally or alternatively, the transmitting at 224 also may includetransmitting the first transmitted acoustic tone via and/or utilizingthe tone transmission medium. The transmitting at 224 further mayinclude transmitting for a first tone-transmission duration.

The transmitting at 224 may be accomplished in any suitable manner. Asan example, the transmitting at 224 may include inducing the firstacoustic tone, within the tone transmission medium, with an encodingnode transmitter of the acoustic wireless network. Examples of theencoding node transmitter include any suitable structure configured toinduce a vibration within the tone transmission medium, such as apiezoelectric encoding node transmitter, an electromagnetic acoustictransmitter, a resonant microelectromechanical system (MEMS)transmitter, a non-resonant MEMS transmitter, and/or a transmitterarray.

Selecting the second frequency for the second transmitted acoustic toneat 226 may include selecting based, at least in part, on the encodedcharacter. Additionally or alternatively, the selecting at 226 also mayinclude selecting from the second predetermined lookup table. Ingeneral, the second predetermined lookup table is different from thefirst predetermined lookup table and/or the second frequency isdifferent from the first frequency. The second frequency may becorrelated to the encoded character in the second predetermined lookuptable. As an example, and with reference to FIG. 6, the second frequencymay be F₈ when the encoded character is “P,” as indicated in theleftmost box of FIG. 7. The second predetermined lookup table mayprovide a one-to-one correspondence between the second frequency and theencoded character. Stated another way, each encoded character, and eachfrequency, may be utilized once and only once in the secondpredetermined lookup table.

Transmitting the second transmitted acoustic tone at 228 may includetransmitting the first transmitted acoustic tone at the secondfrequency. Additionally or alternatively, the transmitting at 228 alsomay include transmitting the second transmitted acoustic tone via and/orutilizing the tone transmission medium. The transmitting at 228 furthermay include transmitting for a second tone-transmission duration.

The transmitting at 228 may be accomplished in any suitable manner. Asan example, the transmitting at 228 may include inducing the secondacoustic tone, within the tone transmission medium, with the encodingnode transmitter.

Conveying the acoustic tone at 230 may include conveying in any suitablemanner. As an example, the decoding node may be spaced-apart from theencoding node such that the tone transmission medium extends between, orspatially separates, the encoding node and the decoding node. Underthese conditions, the conveying at 230 may include conveying the firsttransmitted acoustic tone and/or conveying the second transmittedacoustic tone, via the tone transmission medium, from the encoding nodeto the decoding node.

The conveying at 230 further may include modifying the first transmittedacoustic tone, via a first interaction with the tone transmissionmedium, to generate a first received acoustic tone. Additionally oralternatively, the conveying at 230 may include modifying the secondtransmitted acoustic tone, via a second interaction with the tonetransmission medium, to generate a second received acoustic tone. Themodifying may include modifying in any suitable manner and may be active(i.e., purposefully performed) or passive (i.e., inherently performed asa result of the conveying). Examples of the modifying includemodification of one or more of an amplitude of the first and/or secondtransmitted acoustic tone, a phase of the first and/or secondtransmitted acoustic tone, a frequency of the first and/or secondtransmitted acoustic tone, and/or a wavelength of the first and/orsecond transmitted acoustic tone. Another example of the modifyingincludes introducing additional frequency components into the firstand/or second transmitted acoustic tone. Examples of mechanisms that mayproduce and/or generate the modifying include tone reflections, ringing,and/or tone recombination at the encoding node, within the tonetransmission medium, and/or at the decoding node.

Decoding the decoded character at 240 may include decoding with thedecoding node. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the decoding at 240 includesreceiving, at 242, the first received acoustic tone, calculating, at244, a first frequency distribution, and determining, at 250, a firstdecoded character distribution. The decoding at 240 also includesreceiving, at 258, a second received acoustic tone, calculating, at 262,a second frequency distribution, and determining, at 268, a seconddecoded character distribution. The decoding at 240 further includesidentifying, at 274, the decoded character. The decoding at 240additionally or alternatively may include performing any suitableportion of methods 300, which are discussed herein with reference toFIGS. 9-14.

Receiving the first received acoustic tone at 242 may include receivingthe first received acoustic tone with the decoding node and/or from thetone transmission medium and may be performed subsequent to, orresponsive to, the transmitting at 224. The receiving at 242 may includereceiving the first received acoustic tone for a first tone-receiptduration.

The receiving at 242 may include receiving with any suitable decodingnode that is configured to receive the first received acoustic tone fromthe tone transmission medium. As examples, the receiving at 242 mayinclude receiving with, via, and/or utilizing a piezoelectric decodingnode receiver, a piezoresistive receiver, a resonant MEMS receiver, anon-resonant MEMS receiver, and/or a receiver array.

Calculating the first frequency distribution at 244 may includecalculating the first frequency distribution for, or of, the firstreceived acoustic tone and may be accomplished in any suitable manner.As examples, the calculating at 244 may include performing a Fouriertransform of the first received acoustic tone, performing a fast Fouriertransform of the first received acoustic tone, performing a discreteFourier transform of the first received acoustic tone, performing awavelet transform of the first received acoustic tone, performing amultiple least squares analysis of the first received acoustic tone,and/or performing a polyhistogram analysis of the first receivedacoustic tone. Examples of the polyhistogram analysis are disclosedherein with reference to methods 300 of FIG. 9.

It is within the scope of the present disclosure that the first receivedacoustic tone may include a plurality of first frequency components.These first frequency components may be generated during thetransmitting at 224, during the conveying at 230, and/or during thereceiving at 242, and examples of mechanisms that may generate the firstfrequency components are discussed herein with reference to theconveying at 230.

When the first received acoustic tone includes the plurality of firstfrequency components, the calculating at 244 may include calculating, at246, a relative magnitude of each of the plurality of first frequencycomponents and/or calculating, at 248, a histogram of the plurality offirst frequency components.

Determining the first decoded character distribution at 250 may includedetermining the first decoded character distribution from the firstfrequency distribution and/or from the first predetermined lookup table.As an example, the plurality of first frequency components, ascalculated during the calculating at 244, may correspond to a pluralityof first received characters within first predetermined lookup table 201of FIG. 5. Stated another way, the determining at 250 may includedetermining which character from the first predetermined lookup tablecorresponds to each frequency component in the plurality of firstfrequency components.

Under these conditions, the determining at 250 may include calculating,at 252, a relative probability that the first received acoustic tonerepresents each first received character in the plurality of firstreceived characters and/or calculating, at 254, a histogram of theplurality of first received characters. Additionally or alternatively,the determining at 250 may include mapping, at 256, each first frequencycomponent in the plurality of first frequency components to acorresponding character in the first predetermined lookup table.

Receiving the second received acoustic tone at 258 may include receivingthe second received acoustic tone with the decoding node and/or from thetone transmission medium and may be performed subsequent, or responsive,to the transmitting at 228. The receiving at 258 may include receivingthe second received acoustic tone for a second tone-receipt duration.

Calculating the second frequency distribution at 262 may includecalculating the second frequency distribution for, or of, the secondreceived acoustic tone and may be accomplished in any suitable manner.As examples, the calculating at 260 may include performing a Fouriertransform of the second received acoustic tone, performing a fastFourier transform of the second received acoustic tone, performing adiscrete Fourier transform of the second received acoustic tone,performing a wavelet transform of the second received acoustic tone,performing a multiple least squares analysis of the second receivedacoustic tone, and/or performing a polyhistogram analysis of the secondreceived acoustic tone. Examples of the polyhistogram analysis aredisclosed herein with reference to methods 300 of FIG. 9.

Similar to the first received acoustic tone, the second receivedacoustic tone may include a plurality of second frequency components.These second frequency components may be generated during thetransmitting at 228, during the conveying at 230, and/or during thereceiving at 258, as discussed herein with reference to the calculatingat 244.

When the second received acoustic tone includes the plurality of secondfrequency components, the calculating at 260 may include calculating, at262, a relative magnitude of each of the plurality of second frequencycomponents and/or calculating, at 264, a histogram of the plurality ofsecond frequency components.

Determining the second decoded character distribution at 268 may includedetermining the second decoded character distribution from the secondfrequency distribution and/or from the second predetermined lookuptable. As an example, the plurality of second frequency components, ascalculated during the calculating at 260, may correspond to a pluralityof second received characters within second predetermined lookup table202 of FIG. 6. Stated another way, the determining at 266 may includedetermining which character from the second predetermined lookup tablecorresponds to each frequency component in the plurality of secondfrequency components.

Under these conditions, the determining at 266 may include calculating,at 268, a relative probability that the second received acoustic tonerepresents each second received character in the plurality of secondreceived characters and/or calculating, at 270, a histogram of theplurality of second received characters. Additionally or alternatively,the determining at 266 may include mapping, at 272, each secondfrequency component in the plurality of second frequency components to acorresponding character in the second predetermined lookup table.

Identifying the decoded character at 274 may include identifying thedecoded character based, at least in part, on the first decodedcharacter distribution and the second decoded character distribution.The identifying at 274 may be accomplished in any suitable manner. As anexample, the identifying at 274 may include identifying which characterin the first decoded character distribution has the highest probabilityof being the encoded character and/or identifying which character in thesecond decoded character distribution has the highest probability ofbeing the encoded character.

As a more specific example, the identifying at 274 may include combiningthe first decoded character distribution with the second decodedcharacter distribution to produce and/or generate a composite decodedcharacter distribution and identifying, as indicated at 276, the highestprobability character from the composite decoded character distribution.The first decoded character distribution and the second decodedcharacter distribution may be combined in any suitable manner. As anexample, the first decoded character distribution and the second decodedcharacter distribution may be summed. As another example, the firstdecoded character distribution and the second decoded characterdistribution may be combined utilizing a one-and-one-half moment method.As another more specific example, and as indicated in FIG. 4 at 278, theidentifying at 274 may include selecting a most common character fromthe first decoded character distribution and from the second decodedcharacter distribution.

Repeating at least the portion of the methods at 280 may includerepeating any suitable portion of methods 200 in any suitable order. Asan example, the encoding node may be a first node of the plurality ofnodes, and the decoding node may be a second node of the plurality ofnodes. Under these conditions, the repeating at 280 may includerepeating the encoding at 220 with the second node and repeating thedecoding at 240 with a third node of the plurality of nodes, such as totransmit the encoded character along the length of the tone transmissionmedium. This process may be repeated a plurality of times to propagatethe encoded character among the plurality of spaced-apart nodes. Thethird node may be spaced-apart from the second node and/or from thefirst node. Additionally or alternatively, the second node may bepositioned between the first node and the third node along the length ofthe tone transmission medium.

As another example, the encoded character may be a first encodedcharacter, and the decoded character may be a first decoded character.Under these conditions, the repeating at 280 may include repeating theencoding at 220 to encode a second encoded character and repeating thedecoding at 240 to decode a second decoded character. This isillustrated in FIGS. 7-8, wherein the characters P-A-I-L sequentiallyare encoded, as illustrated in FIG. 7, utilizing correspondingfrequencies from the first and second predetermined lookup tables ofFIGS. 5 and 6. The characters subsequently are decoded, as illustratedin FIG. 8, by comparing the received frequencies to the frequencies fromthe first and second predetermined lookup tables.

Methods 200 have been described herein as utilizing two predeterminedlookup tables (e.g., first predetermined lookup table 201 of FIG. 5 andsecond predetermined lookup table 202 of FIG. 6). However, it is withinthe scope of the present disclosure that methods 200 may include and/orutilize any suitable number of frequencies, and correspondingpredetermined lookup tables, for a given encoded character. As examples,the encoding at 220 may include selecting a plurality of frequencies fora plurality of transmitted acoustic tones from a corresponding pluralityof lookup tables and transmitting the plurality of transmitted acoustictones via the tone transmission medium. As additional examples, thedecoding at 240 may include receiving a plurality of received acoustictones, calculating a plurality of frequency distributions from theplurality of received acoustic tones, determining, from the plurality offrequency distributions and the plurality of predetermined lookuptables, a plurality of decoded character distributions, and identifyingthe decoded character based, at least in part, on the plurality ofdecoded character distributions. The plurality of decoded characterdistributions may include any suitable number of decoded characterdistributions, including at least 3, at least 4, at least 6, at least 8,or at least 10 decoded character distributions.

It is within the scope of the present disclosure that methods 200 may beperformed utilizing any suitable tone transmission medium and/or in anysuitable environment and/or context, including those that are disclosedherein. As an example, and when methods 200 are performed within a well,such as well 20 of FIG. 1, methods 200 further may include drillingwellbore 30. Stated another way, methods 200 may be performed while thewellbore is being formed, defined, and/or drilled. As another example,methods 200 further may include producing a reservoir fluid fromsubterranean formation 92. Stated another way, methods 200 may beperformed while the reservoir fluid is being produced from thesubterranean formation.

As discussed herein, the encoding at 220 and/or the decoding at 240 mayutilize predetermined lookup tables, such as first predetermined lookuptable 201 and/or second predetermined lookup table 202, to mappredetermined frequencies, or frequency ranges, to predeterminedcharacters, or encoded characters. As such, methods 200 may be performedwithout, without utilizing, and/or without the use of a random, orpseudorandom, number generator.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart depicting methods 300, according to the presentdisclosure, of determining a major frequency of a received acoustic tonethat is transmitted via a tone transmission medium, while FIGS. 10-14illustrate various steps that may be performed during methods 300.Methods 300 may be performed utilizing any suitable structure and/orstructures. As an example, methods 300 may be utilized by an acousticwireless network, such as acoustic wireless network 50 of FIG. 1. Underthese conditions, methods 300 may be utilized to communicate along alength of wellbore 30.

Methods 300 include receiving a received acoustic tone at 310,estimating a frequency of the received acoustic tone at 320, andseparating a tone receipt time into a plurality of time intervals at330. Methods 300 also include calculating a frequency variation at 340,selecting a subset of the plurality of time intervals at 350, andaveraging a plurality of discrete frequency values at 360. Methods 300further may include transmitting a transmitted acoustic tone at 370.

Receiving the received acoustic tone at 310 may include receiving with adecoding node of an acoustic wireless network. Additionally oralternatively, the receiving at 310 may include receiving from the tonetransmission medium and/or receiving for a tone receipt time. Thereceiving at 310 may include receiving for any suitable tone receipttime. As examples, the tone receipt time may be at least 1 microsecond,at least 10 microseconds, at least 25 microseconds, at least 50microseconds, at least 75 microseconds, or at least 100 microseconds.The receiving at 310 also may include receiving at any suitablefrequency, or tone frequency. Examples of the tone frequency includefrequencies of at least 10 kilohertz (kHz), at least 25 kHz, at least 50kHz, at least 60 kHz, at least 70 kHz, at least 80 kHz, at least 90 kHz,at least 100 kHz, at least 200 kHz, at least 250 kHz, at least 400 kHz,at least 500 kHz, and/or at least 600 kHz. Additionally oralternatively, the tone frequency may be at most 1 megahertz (MHz), atmost 800 kHz, at most 600 kHz, at most 400 kHz, at most 200 kHz, at most150 kHz, at most 100 kHz, and/or at most 80 kHz.

The receiving at 310 may include receiving with any suitable decodingnode, such as decoding node 64 of FIG. 1. Additionally or alternatively,the receiving at 310 may include receiving with an acoustic tonereceiver. Examples of the acoustic tone receiver include a piezoelectrictone receiver, a piezoresistive tone receiver, a resonant MEMS tonereceiver, a non-resonant MEMS tone receiver, and/or a receiver array.

An example of a plurality of received acoustic tones is illustrated inFIG. 10, while an example of a single received acoustic tone isillustrated in FIG. 11. FIGS. 10-11 both illustrate amplitude of thereceived acoustic tone as a function of time (e.g., the tone receipttime). As illustrated in FIGS. 10-11, the amplitude of the receivedacoustic tone may vary significantly during the tone receipt time. Thisvariation may be caused by non-idealities within the tone transmissionmedium and/or with the tone transmission process. Examples of thesenon-idealities are discussed herein and include acoustic tone reflectionpoints within the tone transmission medium, generation of harmonicsduring the tone transmission process, ringing within the tonetransmission medium, and/or variations in a velocity of the acoustictone within the tone transmission medium. Collectively, thesenon-idealities may make it challenging to determine, to accuratelydetermine, and/or to reproducibly determine the major frequency of thereceived acoustic tone, and methods 300 may facilitate thisdetermination.

Estimating the frequency of the received acoustic tone at 320 mayinclude estimating the frequency of the received acoustic tone as afunction of time and/or during the tone receipt time. This may includeestimating a plurality of discrete frequency values received at acorresponding plurality of discrete times within the tone receipt timeand may be accomplished in any suitable manner.

As an example, the received acoustic tone may include, or be, a receivedacoustic wave that has a time-varying amplitude within the tone receipttime, as illustrated in FIGS. 10-11. The time-varying amplitude maydefine an average amplitude, and the estimating at 320 may includemeasuring a cycle time between the time-varying amplitude and theaverage amplitude, measuring a period of individual cycles of thereceived acoustic wave, and/or measuring a plurality of zero-crossingtimes of the received acoustic wave.

The estimating at 320 may be utilized to generate a dataset thatrepresents the frequency of the received acoustic tone as a function oftime during the tone receipt time. An example of such a dataset isillustrated in FIG. 12. As may be seen in FIG. 12, the frequency of thereceived acoustic tone includes time regions where there is a relativelyhigher amount of variation, such as the time regions from T₀ to T₁ andfrom T₂ to T₃ in FIG. 12, and a time region where there is a relativelylower amount of variation, such as time region from T₁ to T₂ in FIG. 12.

Separating the tone receipt time into the plurality of time intervals at330 may include separating such that each time interval in the pluralityof time intervals includes a subset of the plurality of discretefrequency values that was received and/or determined during that timeinterval. It is within the scope of the present disclosure that eachtime interval in the plurality of time intervals may be less than athreshold fraction of the tone receipt time. Examples of the thresholdfraction of the tone receipt time include threshold fractions of lessthan 20%, less than 15%, less than 10%, less than 5%, or less than 1%.Stated another way, the separating at 330 may include separating thetone receipt time into at least a threshold number of time intervals.Examples of the threshold number of time intervals includes at least 5,at least 7, at least 10, at least 20, or at least 100 time intervals. Itis within the scope of the present disclosure that a duration of eachtime interval in the plurality of time intervals may be the same, or atleast substantially the same, as a duration of each other time intervalin the plurality of time intervals. However, this is not required to allimplementations, and the duration of one or more time interval in theplurality of time intervals may differ from the duration of one or moreother time intervals in the plurality of time intervals.

Calculating the frequency variation at 340 may include calculating anysuitable frequency variation within each time interval and/or withineach subset of the plurality of discrete frequency values. Thecalculating at 340 may be performed in any suitable manner and/or maycalculate any suitable measure of variation, or frequency variation. Asan example, the calculating at 340 may include calculating a statisticalparameter indicative of variability within each subset of the pluralityof discrete frequency values. As another example, the calculating at 340may include calculating a frequency range within each subset of theplurality of discrete frequency values. As yet another example, thecalculating at 340 may include calculating a frequency standarddeviation of, or within, each subset of the plurality of discretefrequency values. As another example, the calculating at 340 may includescoring each subset of the plurality of discrete frequency values.

As yet another example, the calculating at 340 may include assessing amargin, or assessing the distinctiveness of a given frequency in a giventime interval relative to the other frequencies detected during thegiven time interval. This may include utilizing a magnitude and/or aprobability density to assess the distinctiveness and/or utilizing adifference between a magnitude of a most common histogram element and asecond most common histogram element within the given time interval toassess the distinctiveness.

As a more specific example, and when the calculating at 340 includescalculating the frequency range, the calculating at 340 may includebinning, or separating, each subset of the plurality of discretefrequency values into bins. This is illustrated in FIG. 13. Therein, anumber of times that a given frequency (i.e., represented by bins 1-14)is observed within a given time interval (i.e., represented by timeintervals 1-10) is tabulated. A zero value for a given frequencybin-time interval combination indicates that the given frequency bin wasnot observed during the given time interval, while a non-zero numberindicates the number of times that the given frequency bin was observedduring the given time interval.

Under these conditions, the calculating at 340 may include determining aspan, or range, of the frequency bins. In the example of FIG. 13, theuppermost bin that includes at least one count is bin 14, while thelowermost bin that includes at least one count is bin 11. Thus, thespan, or range, is 4, as indicated.

Selecting the subset of the plurality of time intervals at 350 mayinclude selecting a subset within which the frequency variation, asdetermined during the calculating at 340, is less than a thresholdfrequency variation. Experimental data suggests that time intervalswithin which the frequency variation is less than the thresholdfrequency variation represent time intervals that are morerepresentative of the major frequency of the received acoustic tone. Assuch, the selecting at 350 includes selectively determining which timeintervals are more representative of, or more likely to include, themajor frequency of the received acoustic tone, thereby decreasing noisein the overall determination of the major frequency of the receivedacoustic tone.

The selecting at 350 may include selecting a continuous range within thetone receipt time or selecting two or more ranges that are spaced-apartin time within the tone receipt time. Additionally or alternatively, theselecting at 350 may include selecting at least 2, at least 3, at least4, or at least 5 time intervals from the plurality of time intervals.

The selecting at 350 additionally or alternatively may include selectingsuch that the frequency variation within each successive subset of theplurality of discrete frequency values decreases relative to a priorsubset of the plurality of discrete frequency values and/or remainsunchanged relative to the prior subset of the plurality of discretefrequency values.

An example of the selecting at 350 is illustrated in FIG. 13. In thisexample, time intervals with a span of less than 10 are selected andhighlighted in the table. These include time intervals 1, 4, and 5.

Averaging the plurality of discrete frequency values at 360 may includeaveraging within the subset of the plurality of time intervals that wasselected during the selecting at 350 and/or averaging to determine themajor frequency of the received acoustic tone. The averaging at 360 maybe accomplished in any suitable manner. As an example, the averaging at360 may include calculating a statistical parameter indicative of anaverage of the plurality of discrete frequency values within the subsetof the plurality of time intervals. As another example, the averaging at360 may include calculating a mean, median, or mode value of theplurality of discrete frequency values within the subset of theplurality of time intervals.

As a more specific example, and with reference to FIGS. 13-14, theaveraging at 360 may include summing the bins for the time intervalsthat were selected during the selecting at 350. As discussed, andutilizing one criteria for the selecting at 350, bins 1, 4, and 5 fromFIG. 13 may be selected. The number of counts in these three bins thenmay be summed to arrive at FIG. 14, and the bin with the most counts,which represents the most common, or mode, frequency of the selectedtime intervals, may be selected. In the example of FIG. 14, this mayinclude selecting bin 12, or the frequency of bin 12, as the majorfrequency of the received acoustic tone.

Transmitting the transmitted acoustic tone at 370 may includetransmitting with an encoding node of the acoustic wireless network. Thetransmitting at 370 may be subsequent, or responsive, to the averagingat 360; and a transmitted frequency of the transmitted acoustic tone maybe based, at least in part, on, or equal to, the major frequency of thereceived acoustic tone. Stated another way, the transmitting at 370 mayinclude repeating, or propagating, the major frequency of the receivedacoustic tone along the length of the tone transmission medium, such asto permit and/or facilitate communication along the length of the tonetransmission medium.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart depicting methods 400, according to the presentdisclosure, of conserving power in an acoustic wireless networkincluding a plurality of nodes, while FIG. 16 is a schematicillustration of an example of the method of FIG. 15. As illustrated inFIG. 15, methods 400 include repeatedly and sequentially cycling a givennode at 410, transmitting a transmitted acoustic tone at 420, receivinga received acoustic tone at 430, and interrupting the cycling for athreshold tone-receipt duration at 440. Methods 400 further may includeremaining in an active state for the threshold tone-receipt duration at450 and/or repeating at least a portion of the methods at 460.

Methods 400 may be performed by an acoustic wireless network, such asacoustic wireless network 50 of FIG. 1. In such a network, at least onenode 60 of the plurality of nodes 60 is programmed to perform thecycling at 410 and the receiving at 430, and an adjacent node 60 of theplurality of nodes is programmed to perform the transmitting at 420.

Repeatedly and sequentially cycling the given node at 410 may includecycling the given node for a plurality of cycles. Each cycle in theplurality of cycles includes entering, for a low-power state duration, alow-power state in which the given node is inactive, as indicated at412. Each cycle in the plurality of cycles further includes subsequentlytransitioning, for a listening state duration, to a listening state inwhich a receiver of the given node listens for a received acoustic tonefrom a tone transmission medium, as indicated at 414.

In general, the low-power state duration is greater than the listeningstate duration. As examples, the low-power state duration may be atleast 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 6, at least 8, or at least 10times greater than the listening state duration. As such, the given nodemay conserve power when compared to a node that might remain in thelistening state indefinitely.

An example of the cycling at 410 is illustrated in FIG. 16, whichillustrates the state of the given node as a function of time. Asillustrated beginning on the leftmost side of FIG. 16, the given noderemains in a low-power state 480 for a low power state duration 481 andsubsequently transitions to a listening state 482 for a listening stateduration 483. As also illustrated, the given node repeatedly cyclesbetween the low-power state and the listening state. Each cycle definesa cycle duration 486, which is a sum of low-power state duration 481 andlistening state duration 483.

It is within the scope of the present disclosure that the given node mayhave, or include, an internal clock. The internal clock, when present,may have and/or exhibit a low-power clock rate when the given node is inthe low-power state, a listening clock rate when the given node is inthe listening state, and an active clock rate when the given node is inthe active state. The low-power clock rate may be less than thelistening clock rate, thereby permitting the given node to conservepower when in the low-power state. In addition, the listening clock ratemay be less than the active clock rate, thereby permitting the givennode to conserve power in the listening state when compared to theactive state. It is within the scope of the present disclosure that thelistening clock rate may be sufficient to detect, or detect the presenceof, the received acoustic tone but insufficient to resolve, or todetermine a frequency of, the received acoustic tone. In contrast, theactive clock rate may be sufficient to resolve, or detect the frequencyof, the received acoustic tone.

Transmitting the transmitted acoustic tone at 420 may includetransmitting during the cycling at 410 and/or transmitting via the tonetransmission medium. The transmitting at 420 further may includetransmitting for a tone transmission duration, and the tone transmissionduration is greater than the low-power state duration of the given node.As examples, the tone transmission duration may be at least 110%, atleast 120%, at least 150%, at least 200%, or at least 300% of thelow-power state duration. Additionally or alternatively, the tonetransmission duration may be at least as large as, or even greater than,the cycle duration. Examples of the tone transmission duration includedurations of at least 1 millisecond (ms), at least 2 ms, at least 4 ms,at least 6 ms, at least 8 ms, or at least 10 ms.

The transmitting at 420 may be accomplished in any suitable manner. Asan example, the transmitting at 420 may include transmitting with atransmitter of another node of the plurality of nodes. The other node ofthe plurality of nodes may be different from and/or spaced-apart fromthe given node of the plurality of nodes. Stated another way, the tonetransmission medium may extend between, or spatially separate, the givennode and the other node.

The transmitting at 420 is illustrated in FIG. 16. As illustratedtherein, the transmitter output may include a time period 490 in whichthere is no transmitted acoustic tone. In addition, the transmitteroutput also may include a time period 492 in which the transmittertransmits the transmitted acoustic tone for a tone transmission duration493. Since tone transmission duration 493 is greater than low-powerstate duration 481, the given node must be in listening state 482 for atleast a portion of tone transmission duration 493 regardless of whentransmission of the acoustic tone is initiated by the transmitter. Assuch, the given node cycles between low-power state 480 and listeningstate 482, thereby conserving power, while, at the same time, alwaysbeing available to detect, or hear, the transmitted acoustic tone.

Receiving the received acoustic tone at 430 may include receiving duringthe listening state of a given cycle of the plurality of cycles and withthe given node. The receiving at 430 further may include receiving fromthe tone transmission medium and/or with the receiver of the given nodeand may be subsequent, or responsive, to the transmitting at 420.

Interrupting the cycling for the threshold tone-receipt duration at 440may include transitioning the given node to the active state for atleast a threshold active state duration and may be subsequent, orresponsive, to the receiving at 430. This is illustrated in FIG. 16,with the given node transitioning to an active state 484 and remainingin the active state for a threshold active state duration 485 responsiveto the receiving at 430.

The threshold active state duration may be greater than the low-powerstate duration. As examples, the threshold active state duration may beat least 1.5, at least 2, at least 2.5, at least 3, at least 4, or atleast 5 times larger than the low-power state duration, and theinterrupting at 440 may permit the given node to receive one or moresubsequent transmitted acoustic tones in succession. As an example, thetransmitted acoustic tone may be a first transmitted acoustic tone andthe method may include transmitting a plurality of transmitted acoustictones separated by a plurality of pauses, or time periods 490 in whichno acoustic tone is transmitted. Each pause may have a pause duration494, and the interrupting at 440 may include remaining in the activestate responsive to the pause duration being less than the thresholdactive state duration.

Repeating at least the portion of the methods at 460 may includerepeating any suitable portion of methods 400 in any suitable manner. Asan example, and responsive to not receiving an acoustic tone for thethreshold active state duration, the repeating at 460 may includereturning to the cycling at 410, thereby conserving power whilepermitting the given node to detect a subsequent acoustic tone, whichmight be received from the tone transmission medium subsequent to thegiven node returning to the cycling at 410.

The acoustic wireless network and/or the nodes thereof, which aredisclosed herein, including acoustic wireless network 50 and/or nodes 60of FIG. 1, may include and/or be any suitable structure, device, and/ordevices that may be adapted, configured, designed, constructed, and/orprogrammed to perform the functions discussed herein with reference tomethods 200, 300, and/or 400. As examples, the acoustic wireless networkand/or the associated nodes may include one or more of an electroniccontroller, a dedicated controller, a special-purpose controller, aspecial-purpose computer, a display device, a logic device, a memorydevice, and/or a memory device having computer-readable storage media.

The computer-readable storage media, when present, also may be referredto herein as non-transitory computer readable storage media. Thisnon-transitory computer readable storage media may include, define,house, and/or store computer-executable instructions, programs, and/orcode; and these computer-executable instructions may direct the acousticwireless network and/or the nodes thereof to perform any suitableportion, or subset, of methods 200, 300, and/or 400. Examples of suchnon-transitory computer-readable storage media include CD-ROMs, disks,hard drives, flash memory, etc. As used herein, storage, or memory,devices and/or media having computer-executable instructions, as well ascomputer-implemented methods and other methods according to the presentdisclosure, are considered to be within the scope of subject matterdeemed patentable in accordance with Section 101 of Title 35 of theUnited States Code.

In the present disclosure, several of the illustrative, non-exclusiveexamples have been discussed and/or presented in the context of flowdiagrams, or flow charts, in which the methods are shown and describedas a series of blocks, or steps. Unless specifically set forth in theaccompanying description, it is within the scope of the presentdisclosure that the order of the blocks may vary from the illustratedorder in the flow diagram, including with two or more of the blocks (orsteps) occurring in a different order and/or concurrently. It is alsowithin the scope of the present disclosure that the blocks, or steps,may be implemented as logic, which also may be described as implementingthe blocks, or steps, as logics. In some applications, the blocks, orsteps, may represent expressions and/or actions to be performed byfunctionally equivalent circuits or other logic devices. The illustratedblocks may, but are not required to, represent executable instructionsthat cause a computer, processor, and/or other logic device to respond,to perform an action, to change states, to generate an output ordisplay, and/or to make decisions.

As used herein, the term “and/or” placed between a first entity and asecond entity means one of (1) the first entity, (2) the second entity,and (3) the first entity and the second entity. Multiple entities listedwith “and/or” should be construed in the same manner, i.e., “one ormore” of the entities so conjoined. Other entities may optionally bepresent other than the entities specifically identified by the “and/or”clause, whether related or unrelated to those entities specificallyidentified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/orB,” when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as“comprising” may refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionallyincluding entities other than B); in another embodiment, to B only(optionally including entities other than A); in yet another embodiment,to both A and B (optionally including other entities). These entitiesmay refer to elements, actions, structures, steps, operations, values,and the like.

As used herein, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of oneor more entities should be understood to mean at least one entityselected from any one or more of the entity in the list of entities, butnot necessarily including at least one of each and every entityspecifically listed within the list of entities and not excluding anycombinations of entities in the list of entities. This definition alsoallows that entities may optionally be present other than the entitiesspecifically identified within the list of entities to which the phrase“at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those entitiesspecifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, “at least oneof A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or,equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) may refer, in one embodiment,to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no Bpresent (and optionally including entities other than B); in anotherembodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, withno A present (and optionally including entities other than A); in yetanother embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one,A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (andoptionally including other entities). In other words, the phrases “atleast one,” “one or more,” and “and/or” are open-ended expressions thatare both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each ofthe expressions “at least one of A, B and C,” “at least one of A, B, orC,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, or C” and “A, B,and/or C” may mean A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and Ctogether, B and C together, A, B and C together, and optionally any ofthe above in combination with at least one other entity.

In the event that any patents, patent applications, or other referencesare incorporated by reference herein and (1) define a term in a mannerthat is inconsistent with and/or (2) are otherwise inconsistent with,either the non-incorporated portion of the present disclosure or any ofthe other incorporated references, the non-incorporated portion of thepresent disclosure shall control, and the term or incorporateddisclosure therein shall only control with respect to the reference inwhich the term is defined and/or the incorporated disclosure was presentoriginally.

As used herein the terms “adapted” and “configured” mean that theelement, component, or other subject matter is designed and/or intendedto perform a given function. Thus, the use of the terms “adapted” and“configured” should not be construed to mean that a given element,component, or other subject matter is simply “capable of” performing agiven function but that the element, component, and/or other subjectmatter is specifically selected, created, implemented, utilized,programmed, and/or designed for the purpose of performing the function.It is also within the scope of the present disclosure that elements,components, and/or other recited subject matter that is recited as beingadapted to perform a particular function may additionally oralternatively be described as being configured to perform that function,and vice versa.

As used herein, the phrase, “for example,” the phrase, “as an example,”and/or simply the term “example,” when used with reference to one ormore components, features, details, structures, embodiments, and/ormethods according to the present disclosure, are intended to convey thatthe described component, feature, detail, structure, embodiment, and/ormethod is an illustrative, non-exclusive example of components,features, details, structures, embodiments, and/or methods according tothe present disclosure. Thus, the described component, feature, detail,structure, embodiment, and/or method is not intended to be limiting,required, or exclusive/exhaustive; and other components, features,details, structures, embodiments, and/or methods, including structurallyand/or functionally similar and/or equivalent components, features,details, structures, embodiments, and/or methods, are also within thescope of the present disclosure.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The wells and methods disclosed herein are applicable to the acousticwireless communication, to the hydrocarbon exploration, and/or to thehydrocarbon production industries.

It is believed that the disclosure set forth above encompasses multipledistinct inventions with independent utility. While each of theseinventions has been disclosed in its preferred form, the specificembodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated herein are not to beconsidered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. Thesubject matter of the inventions includes all novel and non-obviouscombinations and subcombinations of the various elements, features,functions and/or properties disclosed herein. Similarly, where theclaims recite “a” or “a first” element or the equivalent thereof, suchclaims should be understood to include incorporation of one or more suchelements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements.

It is believed that the following claims particularly point out certaincombinations and subcombinations that are directed to one of thedisclosed inventions and are novel and non-obvious. Inventions embodiedin other combinations and subcombinations of features, functions,elements and/or properties may be claimed through amendment of thepresent claims or presentation of new claims in this or a relatedapplication. Such amended or new claims, whether they are directed to adifferent invention or directed to the same invention, whetherdifferent, broader, narrower, or equal in scope to the original claims,are also regarded as included within the subject matter of theinventions of the present disclosure.

1. A method of determining a major frequency of a received acoustic tonetransmitted via a tone transmission medium for use in a wellboreacoustic wireless network, the method comprising: receiving, with adecoding node of an acoustic wireless network and from the tonetransmission medium, a received acoustic tone for a tone receipt time;estimating a frequency of the received acoustic tone, as a function oftime, during the tone receipt time, wherein the estimating includesestimating a plurality of discrete frequency values received at acorresponding plurality of discrete times within the tone receipt time;separating the tone receipt time into a plurality of time intervals,wherein each time interval in the plurality of time intervals includes asubset of the plurality of discrete frequency values received during thetime interval; calculating a frequency variation within each subset ofthe plurality of discrete frequency values; selecting a subset of theplurality of time intervals within which the frequency variation is lessthan a threshold frequency variation; and averaging the plurality ofdiscrete frequency values within the subset of the plurality of timeintervals to determine the major frequency of the received acoustic tonefor use in the wellbore acoustic wireless network.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the tone receipt time is at least 50 microseconds. 3.The method claim 1, wherein the receiving includes receiving at a tonefrequency of at least 50 kilohertz (kHz) and at most 1 megahertz (MHz).4. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving includes receiving withan acoustic tone receiver.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thereceiving includes receiving with at least one of: (i) a piezoelectrictone receiver; (ii) a piezoresistive tone receiver; (iii) a resonantmicroelectromechanical system (MEMS) tone receiver; (iv) a non-resonantMEMS tone receiver; and (v) a receiver array.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the received acoustic tone is a received acoustic wave, whichhas a time-varying amplitude within the tone receipt time and defines anaverage amplitude, and further wherein the estimating the frequency ofthe received acoustic tone includes at least one of: (i) measuring acycle time between adjacent intersections of the time-varying amplitudewith the average amplitude; (ii) measuring a period of individual cyclesof the received acoustic wave; and (iii) measuring a plurality ofzero-crossing times of the received acoustic wave.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein an interval time of each of the plurality of timeintervals is less than 20% of the tone receipt time.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein an interval time of each of the plurality of timeintervals is equal to an interval time of each other of the plurality oftime intervals.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the calculating thefrequency variation includes calculating a statistical parameterindicative of variability within each subset of the plurality ofdiscrete frequency values.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein thecalculating the frequency variation includes calculating a frequencyrange within each subset of the plurality of discrete frequency values.11. The method of claim 1, wherein the calculating the frequencyvariation includes calculating a frequency standard deviation withineach subset of the plurality of discrete frequency values.
 12. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the calculating the frequency variationincludes scoring each subset of the plurality of discrete frequencyvalues.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting the subset ofthe plurality of time intervals includes selecting a continuous timerange within the tone receipt time.
 14. The method of claim 1, whereinthe selecting the subset of the plurality of time intervals includesselecting at least two time intervals from the plurality of timeintervals.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the subset ofthe plurality of time intervals includes selecting such that thefrequency variation within each successive subset of the plurality ofdiscrete frequency values at least one of: decreases relative to a priorsubset of the plurality of discrete frequency values; and (ii) remainsunchanged relative to the prior subset of the plurality of discretefrequency values.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein the averagingincludes calculating a statistical parameter indicative of an average ofthe plurality of discrete frequency values within the subset of theplurality of time intervals.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein theaveraging includes calculating a mean value of the plurality of discretefrequency values within the subset of the plurality of time intervals.18. The method of claim 1, wherein the averaging includes calculating amode of the plurality of discrete frequency values within the subset ofthe plurality of time intervals.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein theaveraging includes calculating a median of the plurality of discretefrequency values within the subset of the plurality of time intervals.20. The method of claim 1, wherein, subsequent to the averaging, themethod further includes transmitting, with an encoding node of theacoustic wireless network and via the tone transmission medium, atransmitted acoustic tone for a tone transmission time interval, whereina transmitted frequency of the transmitted acoustic tone is based, atleast in part, on the major frequency of the received acoustic tone. 21.The method of claim 20, wherein the transmitted frequency is equal tothe major frequency.
 22. The method of claim 1, used in subterraneanwell, the well comprising: a wellbore that extends within a subterraneanformation; and a downhole acoustic wireless network including aplurality of nodes spaced-apart along a length of the wellbore, whereinthe plurality of nodes includes a decoding node, and further wherein theplurality of nodes is programmed to wirelessly transmit an acoustic tonealong the length of the wellbore utilizing the method.
 23. The method ofclaim 1, performed using a non-transitory computer readable storagemedia including computer-executable instructions that, when executed,direct an acoustic wireless network to perform the method.
 24. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising at least one of a decoding adecoded character with a decoding node of the plurality of nodes,calculating a first frequency distribution, and calculating a secondfrequency distribution.